Anyone have constipation/anal sphincter spasm?

I was lucky enough to find a pelvic floor therapist through my gynocologist. I can't say I'm symptom free (I don't have MS) but I have had about a 50% improvement in my pain and ability to have a bowel movement. She used biofeedback and exercises, and taught me some massage techniques that might be useful for some symptoms. I also have an electronic stimulation machine (that sounds weird I know) but really does give me improved function. I highly recommend finding a pelvic floor therapist, they are few and far between, but they are highly trained in physical therapy and well worth the cost. I did eventually have surgery (for other pelvic floor problems) and am healing pretty well using the techniques I learned.

karen marie, hope all is well.. i will be having more tests soon to rule out things just to get to the bottom of this no pun intended. but i hope all is well just go day to day.

Karen marie, Kiwi first thing in the morning on empty stomach. going to new drs. first week in Oct. think I am making progress to get to the bottom of this. it has been a long haul but my family has been great so it keeps me upbeat. Spasm are strong but I think Iam learning to deal with it. Therapist is best thing I ever did. Find one and you will learn alot. Never new this stuff existed. I really feel dumb and clueless. I try to laugh about it. My own body and I really just took it for granted and excepted everything that was told to me without ever questioning it. Everthing now makes a bit more sense. Hope you are feeling better.. give all avenues a chance before you take that next step. Have you found a therapist in your area yet.. Talk to you soon ,stay well

Wow--it's amazing what an internet search can find. I have read all of your posts, and I can only find myself saying "thank you!!!" I have been dealing with severe constipation for my whole life; it began when I was literally still in diapers. I have always been embarrassed to speak about the issue until now. For the past seven months, things have gotten worse, resulting in three enlarged hemorrhoids (which I refer to as "the three amigos"), fissures, etc. Thankfully, family and the few friends I speak with about this have been very supportive. However, just reading your comments makes me also want to get tested for MS. My father died from Wegener's granulomatosis a few years ago, and I always heard that MS and WG were close cousins. There are other contributing factors that make me want to do this, but the constipation and bowel issues were news to me (didn't know they could be symptoms). At this point, my doctor and I are considering surgery for the fissures and three amigos. For those of you who have had surgeries for these problems, what was it like? What did you have to go through? Were there any prep or recovery things that had to be done? I'll confess that I'm terribly nervous about the surgery, but at this point, I just want to get my life back.

hey,

i used to get a spasming anal sphincter muscle all the time. Actually got the surgery that helped then it came back . Finally i found a way to get rid of it and hasnt came back. Chiropractor. By adjusting my spine she corrected my nervous system which was out of wack causing this problem. incredible. Also went to a naturopath who gave me magnesium and stress pills which helped even more. If you do all three you should be better in no time.

Good luck.

to amie z,

Hi you mention you are only 14 . I have two daughters 15 and 18. So anyway about your problem best place to start is with your mom and your pediatrition. If you need to call the pediatrition yourself. Most of the time at your age constipation is caused by stress. But you need to talk to your doctor so they can evaluate you. Don't be embarrassed most dr's have seen it all and its no big deal. Educate yourself about your body early and learn what best works for you.Hope this helps. Call your doctor start there. I have been dealing with this a long time since childhood and wish I had this forum then....Relax you are going to be fine.

Hi Kim,
Im sorry about your problems. I have MS and yes i had some constipation problems 10 years ago and I also used enemas to have bowel movements constantly. Also what you describe as anal state of spasm, my personal experience I would describe it as a stabbing feeling and its very unconfortable even thougth it lasts just seconds.
I take overcounter pills for gasses, I dont know if it helps, it works for me, but with MS you never know.
What I can say is that I did have more frecuent events on anal spasms compare when I stopped using enemas.
THank you
Beth

Hi

I have suffered from a cervical disc prolapse at C 6/7, and went thru surgery for laminectomy and fusion of C 6/7 with a bone graft about one year ago. Since then I have intermittent chronic constipation which only relieve with frequent use of laxatives. I also have a spastic lower legs since the operation as they say I had some permanent damage to spinal cord. I believe I have the same issue as hypertonic anal sphincter as I can feel it tighten up when ever I want pass stools, not that I have very hard stools. Can anyone suggest a cure or any form of surgery for this? I thought manual  anal dialatation under GA, anyone has suggestions?

Thanks, afon

WELL HELLO! Thank you for your reply! I didnt even remember this post it has been so long... Didnt have MS or Sarcoidosis! BUT, the anal and ureter constant contraction spasms are from the spinal cord injury from an artificial disc that fell apart and was pressing against spine.. The symptoms were very similar to MS... The biofeedback, is that what you had done? It wont work for my problem Ive been told. Im mostly on a liquid pureed diet..... hoping for advances in stem cell research.... hope... hope.... hope... I wont let Drs. remove my colon! That is the only thing they do for this problem.... all these years and no advances... wow! Glad you got fixed!!
Great!

Bonds, can you give me more information about the RUDD clinic, doctor, what the simple procedure was? Was it for hypertonic anal sphincter? It's 2014 and I need help!

T.MC,

I'm sorry. It's been a long time since Kim has been here. She didn't list her email in her profile. I have no way of contacting her.

I hope you get some relief real soon.

I have suffered thru this anal sphincter spasm for the past 3 yrs. Ive tried the botox , it worked the 1st time fairly well but when repeated it had no affect. Ive been on 40 MG of baclofen for 34 yrs it has no affect. Ive tried baclofen injected directly into the spine it did not work. After seeing 3 different Dr's I was talked into a colostomy, Ive had that for a year now & that gave me no relief at all. The ONLY thing that helps is nitroglycerin ointment applied directly to the sphincter & the side effect is a pounding headache which at some time is better than the chronic burning spasm. The other thing that can help is 20mg of nifedipine twice a day BUT that comes with side effects also. Swelling of the legs from water retention+ low blood pressure. So I am still on the search for relief. When you sit 14hrs a day being a paraplegic this anal spasm causing chronic fissures is EXTREMELY painful & causes a condition called dysreflexia. I hope someone finds a very smart DR that wants to put an end to all our misery because I am sympathetic to anyone that endures this HELL!!

hi,

i'm 31/male and since i was 19 my life was hell! first i want to thank you for your shared experiences and solutions because reading this thread was like therapy. next i will share my experience as it might help others make some sense of their problems > it all started with chronic insomnia that lead to depression and abuse of sleeping pills(stillnox,lexotan,diazepam,extraveral,etc); after about 2yrs i've developed a nasty constipation to which i could'nt find any solution(doctors told me the sleeping pill abuse affected the bowell movement); the only thing i could do was to take an osmotic laxative when things got really bad, meaning a week or more without exiting (works just like an enema but without the trouble of inserting liquid via your anus/ the best is MANITOL) the worst part was that all the doctors recomended me eating more and more fibers which only made me become filled up faster! the depression and insomnia led me to smoke weed, each day for more than a year until i developed tachycardia and a very bad psychotic fear of dying;so i was forced to quit but turned into extasy,mdma,crack which, oddly enough, most of the time made me go out!!? that also ended very badly when i started taking more and more and one day ending with urinary retention, which was such a bad experience and also affected my kidneys for the rest of my life; i had to quit and the next month or so was an non-stop Nightmare! i went to a psychiatrist who told me that maybe all my problems were based on the nervous system and prescribed me ARGOFAN > this made me sleep all day, which was quite good but after 2 weeks i developed urinary retention again(very possibly due to my previous drug abuse- the worst thing i've done in my life!) went back to the psychiatrist and changed the prescription to a substance called MIRTAZAPINE > these pills gave me instant sleep, like really knocked me down, and after a couple of days i started emptying my bowels like a dream! but that didn't last long... after 1 month i started loosing my feel of the bladder(sounds strange and it really is),even when full i didn't feel i had to pee, and to do so took 15-30 minutes.... as it got worse and worse i had to stop taking them and fell into deep misery and despair (i sleept decent and slowly started to pee normally but the constipation came back viciously). with time i started to have trouble even passing gas or the liquid generated by the osmotic laxative, which was my only emergency exit! now i struggle with osmotic laxatives and various ointments to relax the sphincter muscle... with poor results. at 19yrs old i had +90kg and was really athletic, this morning i had 69kg and really bad shape
>but seeing i'm not alone helped me a lot(not that i want such misery happening to others :)
>and as a piece of advice from my experience : 1 go to more than one doctor(including interdisciplinary approaches), 2 try yoga if you have the means(it's not as gibberish as you may think), 3 hobbies and reading do wonders to your overall spirit and way of thinking, 4 walk and swim(alone if you don't have anyone to go along), 4 spend two weeks away from your arduous daily life,breathing mountain or ocean air(search for simple,affordable; and don't shy from going alone), 5 eat less and hydrate(fewer calories are better anyway for your health) hope you all get better and happier! :)